Fountain inkwell



July 6, 1937.

E. P. TRUESDALE FOUNTAIN INKWELL Filed March 16; 1936 A w Z E- P.Traesdaze.

Patented July 6, 1937 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an ink well of the fountain type and oneobject of the invention is to provide the ink well with an improved typeof ink receiving well or pocket into which ink flows from a reservoirformed by the body of the ink well, the ink receiving pocket beingprovided with an entrance so constructed that while the pen may befreely inserted and removed therefrom, the pen holder will be limited inits inward movement and prevented from being covered with ink by beinginserted too far into the entrance of the ink receiving pocket. I

Another object of the invention is to so construct the entrance to theink receiving pocket that it will be located above the same when the inkwell is in an upright position and also above the ink receiving chamberor reservoir when the ink well is bent upon its back in position forfilling and thus permits the inkwell to be easily filled through theentrance neck of the pocket.

Another object of theinvention is the provision of an improved closurefor the entrance neck, the closure being pivotally mounted so that itwill normally remain in position to close the entrance neck but permitit to be swung inwardly by pressure applied to its lower end portionwhen a pen is thrust into the entrance.

Another object of the invention is to so construct and mount the closurethat when the ink well is in an upright position outward movement of thelower end of the closure will be limited, whereas when the ink well isturned to an inverted position, this end portion of the closure may beeasily swung outwardly to such an extent that the closure will slidethrough slots in which it is pivotally mounted and out of the entranceneck, thus leaving the entrance neck unobstructed and permitting a freshsupply of ink to be freely poured through the neck and into thereservoir chamber.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ink well of thefountain type wherein an air passage is provided vertically in thereservoir chamber over the inner end portion of the ink receiving wellor pocket and thus permit air to pass upwardly into the upper portion ofthe reservoir when the level of ink in the pocket has been reduced byuse or evaporation to such a point that a replenishing of the ink in thepocket is necessary.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure1 is a sectional view taken vertically through the improved ink well.

Figure 2 is a view showing the improved ink well in front elevation.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken vertically through the ink well alongthe line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 4-4 ofFigure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view showing the ink well in an invertedposition to permit removal of the closure.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the closure.

This improved ink well may be formed of metal, glass or any otherdesired material and has a body I which is preferably rectangular whenviewed in vertical or horizontal cross section but maybe of any desiredshape and also of any dimensions according to the quantity of ink whichit is desired to have the ink receiving chamber or reservoir 2 hold. Thebottom 3 of the reservoir chamber 2 is spaced upwardly above the lowerend of the body I, thus providing space in the lower portion of the bodyto receive the well or pocket 4 into which a quantity of ink flows fromthe reservoir chamber. By referring to Figure 1 it will be seen thatthepocket 4 exstood that if so desired the neck 5 and'its jacket 6 maybe formed as an integral structure instead of forming the jacketseparate from the neck and then securing it about the neck. By havingthe neck threaded, a cap 1 may be screwed tightly thereon to preventevaporation when the I ink well'is not in use. The mouth 8 of the jacketwhich projects outwardly beyond the neck 5' is flared, as clearly shownin Figures 1 and 4, so that ink may be guided'into the neck when fillingthe ink well. This also provides a bordering surface about the outer endof the neck constituting a good abutment to engage the end of'a penholder and limiting movement of the pen holder and afpen inwardlythrough the neck, as indicated by dottedlines in Figure 1. Achanneledstrip 9 extends vertically in the'reservoir chamber 2 against the frontwall of the body over the inner end portion of the pocket 4 and servesas an air passage through which air may travel upwardly from the neckand pocket into the upper end of the reservoir chamber so that ink mayflow from the reservoir chamber intothe pocket to replenish the supplytherein when necessary without bubbling which would be liable to causeinkto have surging motion in the pocket and spill outwardly through theneck. It should also be noted that this channeled strip or air conduit 9serves to block the upper end of a major portion of the pocket withinthe body and thus prevent excessive flow of ink from the reservoir intothe pocket.

In order to normally close the neck and prevent entrance of dust intothe pocket and also prevent excessive evaporation of ink in the pocketwhen the cap I is removed, there has been provided a closure ID havingthe form of a semi-circular block of metal which is of such Width thatit fits snugly into the neck between the flat side walls thereof. A faceplate H is fixed to the flat front or outer face of the closure blockand is of such length that one end portion of the plate projects fromthe block to provide a lip l2 adapted to engage the upper end portion ofthe sloping front wall I3 of the pocket 4 and limit outward movement ofthe lower end of the closure when the ink well is in the uprightposition shown in Figure 1. By referring to this figure it will bereadily seen that while the lower end portion of the closure block maybe easily swung inwardly by pressure of a pen point applied thereto, itcannot move outwardly beyond the position shown in full lines in thisfigure. Therefore, the ink in the pocket will be shielded to preventdust accumulating in the ink in the pocket. Pivot pins l4 extend fromopposite side edges of the face plate ll midway ends of the front faceof the closure block and these pivot pins are engaged in seats I5 whichare in the form of grooves formed in opposite side walls of the neckwith their outer end portions extending across the mouth of the jacket6. These grooves extend inwardly at a downward incline with their innerends terminating opposite each other midway the depth of the neck and asthe inner ends of the grooves are rounded, as shown clearly in Figure 5,the pivot pins can turn freely in the grooves and thus permit theclosure block to be easily moved inwardly when a pen is inserted intothe pocket 4 and then return to the closed position as the pen iswithdrawn. Attention is called to the fact that ends of the block areout of contact with the upper wall of the neck and the sloping frontwall of the pocket but that the lip [2 projects from the closure blockto such an extent that when the ink well is in the upright position thistongue or lip may engage the sloping front wall of the pocket and limitoutward movement of the lower portion of the closure beyond the positionshown in full lines in Figure 1. When, however, it is desired to removethe closure block and thus permit the reservoir chamber to be refilledwith ink, the ink well may be disposed in an inverted position, as shownin Figure 5, and the pivot pins may then slide along the grooves l5 tosuch a position that the arcuate face of the closure block will restupon the wall of the neck and the distance between the pivot pins andthe sloping wall l3 of the ink receiving pocket will be greater than thedistance between the pivot pins and the outer end of the lip or tonguel2. Therefore, when pressure is applied to the outwardly projectingportion of the closure block by a pen, pencil, or other implementindicated by dotted lines in Figure 5, the closure block may becompletely rotated in the neck and as the lip l2 moves outwardly beyondthe outer end of the sloping wall 13 of the neck, the pivot pins willslide downwardly through the grooves l5 and the closure block passedoutwardly from the neck.

The ink well may then be set upon its rear wall with its jacketed neckextending upwardly and a fresh supply of ink poured through the neck tofill the reservoir chamber, after which the closure block may bereplaced and the ink well tion, the level of the ink will finally reacha point in spaced relation to the lower end of the air passage and airmay then pass upwardly through this passage'into the upper end of thereservoir and a fresh supply of ink will flow from the reservoir intothe pocket until the lower end of the air passage is again closed. Byreplacing thecap 1 when the ink well is not in use excessive evaporationof ink in the pocket will be prevented and also dust prevented fromaccumulating upon the outer face of the closure and the outer endportion of the neck.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a fountain ink well, a hollow body defining a reservoir, thebottom of the body being spaced upwardly from the lower end thereof, anauxiliary receptacle extending through a wall of the body under thebottom and providing a pocket having its inner portion communicatingwith said reservoir, a tube extending vertically in said reservoir abovethe inner portion of said pocket to provide an air passage extendingupwardly from the pocket to adjacent the upper end of the reservoir, aneck for the outer portion of said pocket open at its front and havingside walls formed with grooves extending inwardly at a downward incline,and a closure block for said neck pivotally mounted in the neck abovethe outer portion of the pocket by guide pins engaged in said grooves,said closure 'block being semi-circular in shape and having a lipprojecting from one end to engage the upper forward portion of thepocket and limit outward movement of the lower portion of the closureblock, the other end of theclosure block being spaced from the upperportion of the neck when the ink well is in an upright position, wherebyupon inverting the ink well the pivot pins may slide towards outer endsof the grooves to move the lip out of engagement with the wall of thepocket and permit tilting of the block forwardly out of the neck.

2. In a fountain ink well, a body defining a reservoir chamber, anauxiliary receptacle having an inner portion communicating with thelower end of the reservoir chamber and an outer portion projectingforwardly from the body and open at its top, an air conduit extendingvertically in the reservoir and having an open upper the neck, saidclosure having a lip at its lower end for engaging a wall of theauxiliary receptacle when the body is in an upright position and limitswinging movement of the lower portion of the closure toward the outerend of the neck.

3. In a fountain ink well, a hollow body defining an ink reservoir, anauxiliary receptacle disposed partially under the reservoir to providean inner portion communicating with the reservoir and an outer portionopen at its upper end, an entrance neck for the outer portion of theauxiliary receptacle extending upwardly therefrom and open at its front,a jacket about said neck projecting forwardly therefrom and having aflaring mouth constituting an abutment to engage an end of a pen holderwhen a pen is thrust through the neck into the auxiliary receptacle andlimit inward movement of the pen holder and pen, and a closure pivotallyand removably mounted in the neck and formed with a lip at one end toengage a wall of the auxiliary receptacle and limit tilting movement ofthe closure and prevent removal of the closure from the neck when theink well is in an upright position.

4. In a fountain ink Well, a reservoir having an outlet at its bottom,an auxiliary receptacle defining an ink receiving pocket communicatingwith the reservoir through the opening in the bottom thereof and havinga portion projecting fro-m the reservoir and open at its top, an.entrance neck rising from the open top of the projected portion of thepocket and open at its front, and a closure for said neck having pivotsat its sides engaged in seats extending inwardly at a downward inclinefrom the open end of the neck and open at their upper ends.

5. In a fountain ink well, a reservoir having an outlet at its bottom,an auxiliary receptacle defining an ink receiving pocket having aportion communicating with the reservoir through the opening in thebottom thereof and a portion projecting forwardly from the reservoir andopen at its top, a neck for the ink pocket rising from r the forwardlyprojecting portion thereof about its open upper end and open at itsfront, and a closure inserted into the neck through the open front endthereof and pivotally mounted and held against removal when the ink wellis in an upright position, said closure having means associatedtherewith to limit tilting movement of the closure in one direction whenthe ink well is in the upright position.

6. In a fountain ink well, a reservoir having an outlet at its bottom,an ink receiving pocket communicating with the reservoir through theopening in the bottom thereof and having a portion projecting forwardlyfrom the reservoir and open at its top, a substantially horizontal neckcommunicating with the open upper end of the forwardly projectingportion of said pocket and open at its front, a closure pivotallymounted within said neck above said pocket in a substantially uprightposition, means to limit pivotal movement of the closure in onedirection in the neck when the ink well is in an upright position, and aclosure detachably carried by the neck for closing the outer end of theneck.

'7. In a fountain ink well, a reservoir having an outlet at its bottom,an ink receiving pocket communicating with the reservoir through theoutlet openings thereof and having a portion pro jecting from thereservoir and open at its top, a neck rising from the projecting portionof the pocket and open at its front and at opposite sides provided withtracks extending inwardly from the open front of the neck at a downwardincline, and a closure block fitting into the neck through the openfront thereof and having pivot pins engaged in the track to slid'ab-lyand pivotally mount the closure, and a tongue extending from one end ofthe closure block to limit tilting movement of the closure block andprevent removal of the closure block from the neck when the ink well isin an upright position.

8. In a fountain ink well, a. reservoir having an outlet at its bottom,an ink receiving pocket communicating with. the reservoir through theopening in the bottom thereof and having a portion projecting from thereservoir and open at its top, a neck rising from the projected portionof the'pocket and open at its front, a jacket for said neck, oppositeside walls of the neck being formed with seats extending inwardly at adownward incline and open at their outer ends, a closure in said neckhaving pivot pins at its sides engaged in said seats to pivotally mountthe closure, and a cap detachably engaged with the jacket to close theouter end of the neck when in place.

EDDIE P. TRUESDALE.

